file.noindex

DEVONthink Tips
1

I’m relatively new to DTP, so please forgive me if this is a “duh!” question.

I have been trying to utilize DTP into my document creation workflow, performing a “Save as” from my external editor. I have ended up with some files in “file.noindex” folder. Should these be cleared out, and, if so, how would this be best accomplished?

2

You could verify the database via Tools > Verify & Repair. If there are really any additional files, then this command should report them as orphaned and add them to the database.

3

“files.noindex” is a subfolder stored inside a DEVONthink database. (Databases are “packages” - a type of folder that OS X recognizes.) It is never a good idea to store files directly into any part of the DEVONthink database. I suggest you do a few things to tidy up the database:

  1. Be sure any documents that might be open in an external editor (e.g., Word or TextEdit) are closed.
  2. In DEVONthink, select the databases one by one (including the global Inbox) and run Tools > Verify & Repair. You’ll likely end up with some “orphan” files – these are the documents that were stored directly into the database. DEVONthink will move these files into an “orphans” group, from which you can move them elsewhere in your database, or delete them.
  3. Empty the trash in DEVONthink

If any of the steps above result in error messages or problems not described here, I’d suggest you might need to work one-on-one with DEVONtechnologies Support to resolve the issues. Contact them at support-at-devontechnologies.com.

For the future, if you create a document in an editor app, and want to store it in DEVONthink, then first save it to the desktop, close the edit window, import or drag the file to your database, then use Data > Open With… (or the same command in the contextual menu) to open the document in your editor. You might also want to explore Data > New from Template… as a way to make “starter documents” directly inside your database. These can then be “Open With…” an editor.